Jeremy Hermida Rumors

Here are the minor moves on a Friday that should be a much quieter day than the previous four…

Outfielder Jeremy Hermida, who was released by the Brewers yesterday to pursue an opportunity with an Asian club, has signed a $500K contract with Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters, according to the Associated Press. The former Marlin hit .256/.370/.456 with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate last season. Hermida’s bat fell off sharply after hitting .267/.345/.432 from 2007-09 with the Marlins, and he hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2012.

Here are today’s minor transactions, with the newest moves at the top of the post…

The Twins have signed right-hander Brayan Villarreal to a split contract, ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reports (via Twitter). The deal contains an invitation to Minnesota’s Spring Training camp and Villarreal will earn $522K if he stays on the Twins’ Major League roster. Villarreal last pitched in the majors in 2013 and spent last season with the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate.

The Yankees signed infielder Nick Noonan to a minor league deal, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports (Twitter link). Noonan, taken 32nd overall by the Giants in the 2007 draft, has a .262/.316/.368 slash line over 3322 career PA in the minors, all in San Francisco’s farm system. He appeared in 62 games with the Giants in 2013.

The Marlins are likely to sign free agent infielder Scott Sizemore, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Sizemore signed a minor league deal with the Yankees last winter and played in six games for the club before being released and re-signed over the summer. Due in part to a pair of major knee injuries, Sizemore has only appeared in eight Major League games over the last three seasons.

The Brewers have released outfielder Jeremy Hermida so he can pursue an opportunity to play in Japan, the team announced. Hermida just signed a new minor league contract with Milwaukee in November. The former 11th overall pick (in the 2002 draft) and top prospect last played in the majors in 2012 as a member of the Padres.

The Orioles announced that they have outrighted left-hander Pat McCoy and infielder Steve Lombardozzi to Triple-A Norfolk. The O’s 40-man roster is now down to 37.

The Nippon Ham Fighters have signed third baseman Brandon Laird, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The 27-year-old former Yankee farmhand spent 2014 with the Nationals Triple-A affiliate. He posted a healthy .300/.350/.490 line in 506 plate appearances. The Ham Fighters are also reportedly close to signing outfielder Jeremy Hermida.

Baseball America’s Matt Eddy has this week’s edition of his Minor League Transactions feature up, which, as usual, features several recent minor league signings. Here are a few highlights from his piece, as well as other minor moves from around the league…

After releasing him on Friday, the Nationals have re-signed lefty Matt Purke to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite, James Wagner of the Washington Post reports. Purke has never thrown to the potential that the team saw when they gave him a massive bonus to sign out of the 2011 draft, but now he will have a chance to rehab from Tommy John surgery without occupying a 40-man roster spot.

The Dodgers have acquired right-handed-hitting outfielder/first baseman Kyle Jensen from the Marlins, the clubs announced. Jensen, 26, has yet to see playing time at the MLB level, but slashed .260/.331/.481 with 27 home runs last year in the PCL. Miami will receive cash or a player to be named later in return.

The Phillies have signed right-hander P.J. Walters, according to Eddy. The 29-year-old comes with 152 innings of big league experience, though he’s struggled to a 6.28 ERA in that time. Much of that work came with the 2012-13 Twins, where he posted a 5.79 ERA in 101 innings. Walters has a 4.70 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 735 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level.

The D’Backs and left-hander Justin Marks have agreed to a minor league deal, also per Eddy. The 26-year-old Marks picked up his first two big league innings in 2014 and has a lifetime 5.02 ERA with 8.1 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in Triple-A. Marks struggled overall in 2014 but was previously excellent against lefties, holding them to a .191/.301/.268 batting line in 2013. He, along with Vin Mazzaro, was one of two players acquired by the Royals from the A’s in exchange for David DeJesus back in 2010.

The Brewers announced last week that they have re-signed outfielder Jeremy Hermida and infielder Pete Orr to minor league deals. The 30-year-old Hermida once carried a significant amount of promise — he was the 11th overall pick in 2002 and hit .296/.369/.501 as a 24-year-old in 2007 — but hasn’t seen Major League action since 2012 with the Padres. Orr, 35, has seen MLB action parts of eight seasons, most recently with the Phillies in 2013. He is a career .257/.289/.328 hitter that is capable of playing all over the diamond. He hit .301/.329/.423 with the Brewers in Triple-A last year.

The Marlins have inked indy league second baseman Omar Artsen, Eddy reports. The 24-year-old Artsen spent last season playing in the Pecos League where he boasted a gaudy stat line of .397/.480/.576 with nine homers and 52 steals in 353 PA.

Left-hander Erick Hurtado has signed a minor-league deal with the Blue Jays, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports. The 19-year-old has limited professional experience, logging just 12 1/3 innings in two seasons for Astros and Yankees affiliates, but stands an imposing 6' 4".

The Pirates have brought in catcher Erick Fernandez on a minor-league deal, according to Eddy. The 25-year-old was released by the Nationals on July 22. He has a career .224/.294/.264 line in three seasons for Nationals affiliates.

The A's inked catcher Dusty Brown to a minor-league contract, Eddy reports. Brown saw sporadic Major League playing time from 2009-2011, but hasn't reached the big leagues since and did not play at all in 2013.

The Angels have signed catcher Anderson de la Rosa to a minor-league deal, per Eddy. The 29-year-old catcher has never reached the majors, spending his entire career in the Brewers system.

The Brewers have signed outfielder Jeremy Hermida and infielder Joe Thurston to minor-league contracts, according to a team release. Hermida, formerly an everyday player with the Marlins, played the entire 2013 for Triple-A Columbus in the Indians organization, batting .247/.365/.416. Thurston collected 307 plate appearances for the Cardinals in 2009 and last appeared in the big leagues in 2010. He played in Mexico in 2013.

Pitcher Barry Enrighttweets that he has signed with the Phillies. Enright, who will be 28 in March, struggled in 2013, posting a 7.12 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 116 1/3 innings with Triple-A Salt Lake. He also appeared in four games with the Angels. The righty pitched in the Diamondbacks rotation for parts of the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

The Padres signed second baseman Adam Buschini to a minor league deal, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock. The 25-year-old Buschini was a fourth-round pick of the Phillies in 2009 but hasn't appeared in affiliated ball since 2010. He spent this past season in the Australian Baseball League where he won the Triple Crown by hitting .363 with 15 homers and 50 RBIs.

The Orioles agreed to sign right-hander Joel Pineiro to a minor league deal, Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports (allTwitterlinks). The 34-year-old last-pitched at the MLB level with the 2011 Angels. Pineiro, who pitched in the Orioles' minor league system in 2012, had surgery to repair a SLAP tear in his right shoulder last July.

The Orioles also completed a minor league deal with left-hander Mark Hendrickson, Connolly reports. Hendrickson, the former NBA player who pitched with Baltimore from 2009-11, recently threw bullpen sessions for Orioles personnel. The 38-year-old is now pitching sidearm as he attempts to return to the MLB level for the first time since 2011.

The Indians have agreed to sign Jeremy Hermida to a minor league contract, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports (on Twitter). Hermida played for the Padres in 2012, appearing in 13 games. The 29-year-old was regarded as a top prospect early in his professional career and he hit 18 home runs for the 2007 Marlins, but he hasn't produced on offense in the past three seasons. Hermida, a first round pick in 2002, bats from the left side.

Here's an update on two players who were recently removed from their team's 40-man roster…

Outfielder Jeremy Hermida cleared waivers and has become a free agent, reports MLB.com's Chelsea Janes (on Twitter). The Padresdesignated the 28-year-old for assignment last week after he hit .250/.333/.375 in 27 plate appearances.

Infielder Luis Hernandez has cleared waivers been outrighted to Triple-A, reports Jeff Wilson of The Fort-Worth Star-Telegram (on Twitter). The 28-year-old was designated for assignment by the Rangers yesterday after hitting .262/.302/.372 for the club's Triple-A affiliate.

The Padres announced that they designated outfielder Jeremy Hermida for assignment. The team selected the contract of left-hander Andrew Werner and optioned right-hander Brad Boxberger to Triple-A in related moves.

Hermida signed a one-year, $800K contract with the Padres last offseason only to spend considerable time on the disabled list with a strained hip flexor. The 28-year-old appeared in just 13 games for the Padres, but he also played in 44 games for San Diego's Triple-A affiliate, posting a .252/.318/.358 batting line in 170 plate appearances.

The Padres reached an agreement with outfielder Jeremy Hermida on a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick. They had non-tendered him last week. Hermida, a former Marlins top prospect, hit .319/.400/.524 in 450 plate appearances for the Reds' Triple-A affiliate this year. The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Padres in August and designated for assignment in early December upon the team's acquisition of Huston Street. Hermida received some feelers from Japanese teams this offseason, Crasnick notes.